Dutch sex therapists: Legalize ‘virtual’ child pornography

Dutch sex therapists Rik van Lunsen and Erik van Beek believe “virtual” child pornography should be legal in the Netherlands, claiming that drawings, paintings and computer-generated images could help appease the sexual urges of pedophiles.

“I think that repressing your fantasies can lead to frustration and, ultimately, for some types of pedophile, to a greater likelihood of doing something wrong,” van Beek told the French news agency AFP. “If you make virtual child pornography under strict government control with a label explaining that no child was abused, you can give pedophiles a way of regulating their sexual urges.”

The Netherlands banned all sexual representation of children in 2002, deeming virtual child pornography too realistic due to technological advances. Those caught creating, owning or sharing any kind of child pornography in the country can receive a four-year prison term.

Van Lunsen said there is a distinction between healthy pedophiles and delinquent pedophiles.

“We’re not responsible for our thoughts or our fantasies, we’re only responsible for one thing — our actions,” he said.

The therapists run Amsterdam University Hospital’s sexology department.